Primary Navigation

Welcome to my blog!

Hello. This blog is all mine and I will do my best to post what interests me and what books I read with honest reviews. I am a lover of good Christian fiction with a touch of romance, mystery, intrigue, humor, fun, etc. I invite you to join me as I read my way through books and life. I recently finished grad school and just got accepted to medical school!!! I have to carefully choose what I want to read for fun. My name is Kim and you are entering the Wong Mind.

Book Review with Celebrate Lit: The Fifth Avenue Story Society by Rachel Hauck

About the Book

An invitation to join The Fifth Avenue Story Society gives five New York strangers a chance to rewrite their own stories.

Executive assistant Lexa is eager for a much-deserved promotion, but her boss is determined to keep her underemployed.

Literature professor Jett is dealing with a broken heart, as well as a nagging suspicion his literary idol, Gordon Phipps Roth, might be a fraud.

Uber driver Chuck just wants a second chance with his kids.

Aging widower Ed is eager to write the true story of his incredible marriage.

Coral, queen of the cosmetics industry, has broken her engagement and is on the verge of losing her great grandmother’s multimillion-dollar empire.

When all five New Yorkers receive an anonymous, mysterious invitation to the Fifth Avenue Story Society, they suspect they’re victims of a practical joke. No one knows who sent the invitations or why. No one has heard of the literary society. And no one is prepared to bear their deepest secrets to a roomful of strangers.

Yet curiosity and loneliness bring them back week after week to the old library. And it’s there they discover the stories of their hearts, and the kind of friendship and love that heals their souls.

About the Author

Rachel Hauck is the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and USA TODAY bestselling author of The Wedding Dress, which was also named Inspirational Novel of the Year by Romantic Times and was a RITA finalist. Rachel lives in central Florida with her husband and pet and writes from her ivory tower. Visit her online at RachelHauck.com; Facebook: RachelHauck; Twitter: @RachelHauck; Instagram: @rachelhauck.

My Review

The Fifth Avenue Story Societyby Rachel HauckRating: 4.5/5

I am a huge fan of Rachel Hauck already but this book is a bit different and I thoroughly enjoyed it! Even though there are quite a few characters to keep track of, I felt each one got their moments of truth, and I needed to finish reading till the end. I definitely lost some sleep over finishing the story but it was worth it!

Meet the five people who make up the Fifth Avenue Story Society. Lexa is an executive assistant who works hard and deserves to be promoted to CEO if she can convince her boss. Jett is her ex-husband who is a professor researching his dissertation on his favorite author and dealing with his divorce and brother’s death. Coral is a high society heiress running her grandmother’s cosmetics company who recently left her fiancé – a prince – at the altar. Chuck is an Uber and limo driver trying to figure how he can see his twins more after his ex-wife put out a restraining order on him. Ed is an older gentleman who misses his wife and is desperately trying to write a memoir of their love story. Mysterious invitations brought these five people together and week after week, they share their stories and their struggles as they begin to heal and have hope for their futures.

I love when people’s stories intertwine and you get to see it all come together as a reader like a beautifully woven tapestry. The different tones of the story made me laugh and cry. The characters have real struggles and problems that need to be worked through. The faith of one ends up sparking the faith in the others. The themes of forgiveness and redemption are woven throughout the story and I could definitely see this book becoming a Hallmark movie that makes me cry. There’s something about Rachel Hauck’s writing that draws the reader into her world and forces them to ask those hard questions and challenge themselves to think about what they would do if they were in her characters’ same situations.

Beautifully written and highly recommended for those who enjoy some romance, some mystery, and people-watching.

My thanks to the publisher, NetGalley, and CelebrateLit for an ARC of the book. All opinions expressed here are entirely my own. No positive review was expected and no compensation received.